The Trump administration is moving to restart the specialized LGBTQ+ option for youth who contact the 988 crisis intervention hotline, but the group that helped pioneer the idea is being shut out. The Trevor Project, the New York-based leading non-profit for suicide prevention in LGBTQ+ young people in the US, may not be allowed to offer the service it had helped develop for the 988 Lifeline just a few years ago.
Background on the 988 Hotline
The 988 hotline, dubbed the 911 for mental health emergencies, is credited with reducing teen and young adult suicide deaths. It offers specialized options for certain groups within minority communities, such as military veterans and Spanish speakers. Last July, the Trump administration stopped offering the "press 3" option for LGBTQ+ youth with a month's notice, citing that funding had run out. Now, the administration is working to bring it back by the end of the year because Congress directed officials to allocate $33 million toward LGBTQ+ specific interventions for youth.
Trevor Project Excluded
However, the Trevor Project might not be allowed to offer the services it developed and specializes in. Dr Christine Yu Moutier, chief medical officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, said it "would not make sense" to keep the Trevor Project ineligible to help, calling it a "longstanding, high-quality and trusted resource" for LGBTQ+ people. The development is the latest in a chaotic chapter for the service for LGBTQ+ youth, who attempt suicide at higher rates than the general population. Leaving the Trevor Project out raises concerns about the relaunched service, especially given the Trump administration's broader attempt to unravel protections for transgender and non-binary Americans at a time when more of them are reaching out in crisis.
Political Reactions
Tammy Baldwin, a Democratic Wisconsin senator and one of the most prominent lesbian lawmakers in Washington DC, said, "The Trump administration never should have shut down the 'press 3' option and put young Americans at further risk." Baldwin, the first out gay person elected to the US Senate in 2012, has led a bipartisan push to restore the service. She called on Donald Trump to restore the service "without needless limitations and with the most qualified, experienced people answering the phone calls and text messages from these vulnerable young people."
Details of the Service
The lifeline's specialized service allowed people to press 3, text "PRIDE," or use online chat to reach counselors specially trained to work with LGBTQ+ young people. The umbrella of services broadly called the "press 3" option fielded 1.6 million contacts while it was in operation, according to data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The Trevor Project handled about half of the program's traffic.
When it cancelled the "press 3" option, federal officials said LGBTQ+ youth could still get help through 988's general services, but it would "no longer silo" the services, instead focusing "to serve all help seekers," including LGBTQ+ youth. Now, the non-profit that administers the 988 service, Vibrant Emotional Health, has called for applications to manage the return of the "press 3" lines. But applications are limited to crisis centers that are "current and active" members of the 988 network. The Trevor Project is not currently active in the program—only because the administration cancelled the service it specialized in.
Concerns from the Trevor Project
The six other crisis centers that worked on the LGBTQ+ youth program are active in the 988 network. They work with the general population as well as LGBTQ+ people. Only the Trevor Project had a specific mission to serve LGBTQ+ youth. Jaymes Black, CEO of the Trevor Project, said in a statement, "This troubling development indicates a dangerous step toward degrading the clinical standards to serve high risk groups that the 'press 3' specialized services were founded on." Black worries that the next iteration of 988's LGBTQ+ youth services "may exclude transgender and non-binary youth entirely." The organization still independently runs its own 24/7 crisis line for LGBTQ+ young people.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services did not directly respond to questions about the Trevor Project's eligibility.
